Massasoit's town Sowams in Pokanoket, its history, legends and traditions

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Massasoit's Town

Sowams in Pokanoket

ITS HISTORY LEGENDS
AND TRADITIONS

By VIRGINIA BAKER

Author of
The History of Warren, R. I. in the War of the Revolution

PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR

Warren, R. I.

1904

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MAR g 1904

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" Warren! where first beside the cradled nation,
The old chief stood, we love thy storied past,

' Sowams is pleasant for a habitation ' —

'Twas thy first history — may it be thy last."

— Hezekiah Butter worth.

Copyright 1904 by Virginia Baker

Massasoit's Town
Sowams in Pokanoket

A PECULIAR interest centres about everything per-
taining to the great Wampanoag sachem Massasoit.
Massasoit has always, and justly, been regarded as
one of the most remarkable of that group of
illustrious aboriginal chieftains with whom the early white
settlers of New England were associated. But while the
student of history is familiar with the story of the Indian
king's life-long allegiance to our forefathers, while he
admires in the untutored savage virtues few Christian
monarchs have possessed, he knows comparatively little of
the environments that helped to mould a character of so
unique a stamp. The ancient chroniclers often allude to
Massasoit's place of residence, and the questions that naturally
present themselves are: Where was this place? Why did
Massasoit select it for his abode? What is its history? To
answer these questions, in part at least, is the object of this
sketch.

At the period when the Mayflower came to anchor in
Plymouth harbor, Massasoit exercised dominion over nearly
all the south-eastern part of Massachusetts from Cape Cod
to Narragansett Bay. The south-western section of his king-
dom was known as Pokanoket, Sowams, or Sowamsett. It
included what now comprises the towns of Bristol, Warren,
Barrington, and East Providence in Rhode Island, with
portions of Seekonk, Swansea, and Rehoboth in Massachu-
setts. Though its area was only about 500 square miles
Pokanoket, owing to its many natural advantages, was more

M a s s a s o i t ' s Town

densely populated than any other part of the Wampanoag
country. Its principal settlement was the village of Sowams,
where Massasoit maintained his headquarters, and where,
without doubt, the greater portion of his life was passed.

For many years the exact location of this village was a
disputed point, authorities variously fixing it at Bristol,
Barrington, and Warren. The late Gen. Guy M. Fessenden
was the first to demonstrate, conclusively, tha^ Sowams
occupied the site of the last mentioned place. The results
of his careful and painstaking investigation of the claims of
the three towns may be found in the short but valuable his-
torical sketch of Warren published by General Fessenden
in 1845*

One familiar with the Pokanoket region readily perceives
why Massasoit placed his capital where he did. Warren is
situated midway between Barrington and Bristol, on an
arm of Narragansett Bay, and is bounded on the north and
east by the State of Massachusetts. A glance ac the map
of Rhode Island will show the reader that, at Warren, which
is farther inland than either of its sister towns, the Wampa-
noags were, in a great measure, protected from the danger
of sudden attack by their enemies, the Narragansetts who
dwelt upon the opposite shore of the bay,f and that, in case
of hostile invasion, they were easily able to retire to less
exposed portions of their domains.

The Indians were always particular to locate their per-
manent villages in the vicinity of springs of running water.
Warren abounds in such springs. Its soil is generally fertile
and its climate agreeable and healthy, as, owing to its some-
what inland position, it escapes the full rigor of the fierce

*See also, "Sowams, the Home of Massasoit: Where Was It?" by
Virginia Baker, N. E. Hist, and Gen. Register, July, 1899.

t The Narragansetts occupied what is now Washington County, Rhode
Island

Sow a"m s in Pokanoket 5

winds, that, during the winter months, sweep the unsheltered
shores of Bristol. In the days when the Wampanoags in-
habited its territory, it was well timbered, and grapes, cherries,
huckleberries, and other wild fruits grew abundantly in
field and swamp. Its rivers teemed with fish of many vari-
eties, and also yielded a plentiful supply of lobsters, crabs,
oysters, clams, quahaugs, and mussels. Flocks of wild
fowl haunted its marshes; deer and smaller game frequented
its woods. Even in those seasons when food became gen-
erally scarce, the dwellers at Sowams probably suffered little
from hunger in comparison with the inhabitants of many
sections of New England less favored by nature.

At Sowams, too, every facility for the manufacture of
the shell beads used as currency by the aborigines was to be
found. Any one who chose might become a natouwompitea,
or coiner, and literally, "make as much money," as he
wished. From the rocks at hand the savage artificer shaped
the rude implements which his craft demanded. The waters
gave him freely the periwinkle and the quahaug. From
the former he cut the wampum * or white beads. Of the
"eye," or dark portion of the latter, he fashioned the more
aluable black beads called suckauhock. These beads were
made into necklaces, scarfs, belts, girdles, bracelets, caps
and other articles of dress and ornament "curiously strung,"
says Roger Williams, "into many forms and figures, their
black and white finely mixed together." Not infrequently
a savage arrayed in gala attire carried upon this person his
entire stock of ready money. Governor Bradford states
that the Narragansetts and Pequots grew "rich and potent"
by the manufacture of wampum and, presumably, wealth
contributed in no small degree towards establishing the
pre&tige of the Wampanoags.

* This name, although originally applied only to the white beads, came,
in time, to signify both white and black.

Massasoit's Town

This tribe, properly speaking, was a confederation of clans
each clan having its own headman who was, however, sub-
servient to a chief sachem. The Wampanoags, or Pokanokets
as they were also called, were originally a populous and
powerful people and it is said that, at one period, their chief
was able to rally around him no less than 3,000 warriors.
The father of Massasoit, according to the testimony of his
illustrious son,* waged war successfully against the Narra-
gansetts ; and Annawon, King Philip's great captain, boasted
to his captor, Church, of the "mighty success he had formerly
in wars against many nations of Indians, when he served
Asuhmequin, Philip's father." About three years before
the settlement of Plymouth, however, a terrible plague de-
vastated the country of the Wampanoags and greatly dimin-
ished their numbers. Governor Bradford, alluding to this
pestilence, states that "thousands of them dyed, they not
being able to burie one another," and that "their sculs and
bones were found in many places lying still above ground,
where their houses and dwellings had been; a very sad
specktacle to behould." The Narragansetts who were
so fortunate as to escape the plague, took advantage of
the weakness of their ancient foes, wrested from them one
of the fairest portions of their domain the island of Aquid-
neck, (Rhode Island) and compelled Massasoit to subject
"himself and his lands," to their great sachem Canonicus.
In 1620, the Pokanoket chieftain could summon to his aid
only about 300 fighting men, sixty of whom were his imme-
diate followers. Yet Massasoit, despite his weakness, con-
trived to maintain his supremacy over the petty sachems
of the various clans of the Wampanoag confederacy. The
sagamores of the Islands of Nantucket and Nope or Capa-
wack (Martha's Vineyard), of Pocasset, (Tiverton), Saconet

* See Deposition of Roger Williams.

S o w a m s in Pokanoket 7

(Little Compton), Namasket (Middleborough), Nobsquasset
(Yarmouth), Monamoit (Chatham), Nauset (Eastham),
Patuxet (Plymouth), and other places, together with the
headmen of some of the Nipmuc nation, were tributary to
him. Undoubtedly some of these chiefs were allied to Massa-
soit by ties of consanguinity or mutual interests; others,
probably, rendered homage as conquered to conqueror.

Like the Narragansetts, the Wampanoags were consider-
ably advanced in civilization. They built permanent villages ,
and cultivated corn, beans, pumpkins, and squashes. They
manufactured cooking utensils of stone and clay,* and rude
implements for domestic and war-like purposes from shells,
stone, and bone. They prepared the greater part of their
food by the aid of fire and their cookery was, by no means,
unpalatable. The famed Rhode Island Johnny cake and
still more famous Rhode Island clam bake each claim an
Indian origin. They understood how to dress birch and
chestnut bark which they used for covering their wigwams,
and they constructed canoes by hollowing out the trunks of
large trees. Of rushes and grasses they wove mats and
baskets, and the}' fashioned moccasins, leggings, and other
articles of apparel from the skins of wild beasts. They were
very accurate in their observations of the weather, and spent
much time in studying the heavens, being familiar with the
motions of the stars, and having names for many of the
constellations. In common with the other native tribes of
North America, they worshipped various gods, peopling
earth, air, sky, and sea with deities; yet they acknowledged
one supreme being, and believed in the immortality of the
soul.

It is obvious that Massasoit possessed mental endowments
of no mean order, and it is equally obvious that his environ-

* Undoubtedly much of the clay used in Pokanoket was procured at
Barrington and North Swansea.

8 Massasoit's Town

ments were precisely those best calculated to develop a
character naturally strong. He dwelt in a land which, if
not literally flowing with milk and honey, abounded with
everything needful to supply the simple wants of savage life,
and thus he escaped those demoralizing influences which
attend the struggle for mere existence. The proximity of
a powerful enemy rendered him, cautious, alert, and vigilant.
His position as the chief of a considerable confederacy in-
vested him with dignity, and called into activity all those
statesman-like qualities for which he was so justly famed.
Winslow describes him as "grave of countenance, spare of
speech," and this description tallies exactly with our ideal
of the man. General Fessenden remarks: "This chief has
never had full justice done to his character." Certainly it
was no ordinary man who, conquered himself, still retained
the respect and allegiance of several clans, differing in thought,
mode of life, and interests. It was no ordinary man who, un-
daunted by misfortune, endured the yoke patiently till the
opportunity to throw it off presented itself, and then quietly
taking advantage of the auspicious moment accomplished
the liberation of himself and his people from a servitude
more bitter than death itself.

Massasoit was familiar with the appearance of white men
before the arrival of the Pilgrims at Plymouth. In 1619,
Captain Thomas Dermer, an Englishman, visited the Massa-
chusetts coast and held an interview at Namasket with "two
kings" of Pokanoket, undoubtedly Massasoit and his brother
Quadequina. The English were regarded with suspicion
and dislike by some of the tribes of the Wampanoag con-
federacy, owing to the fact that a certain unscrupulous trader *
had kidnapped some of the natives and sold them into slavery

* Captain Thomas Hunt. He sold the Indians, Winslow tells us, for
£20 apiece "like a wretched man that cares not what mischief he doth
for his profit."

Sowams in Pokanoket 9

in Spain. Had the English attempted a settlement at
Plymouth when the Pokanokets were at the zenith of their
power, they would, probably, have been either exterminated
or driven from the country. But, in 1620, Massasoit, whose
fortunes were at the ebb, stood ready to extend the right-
hand of fellowship to the pale-faced strangers, in whom he
perceived the possible deliverers of his nation. The treaty
with the Pilgrims into which he entered at Plymouth in
March, 1621, was the bold stroke of a wise statesman and
an experienced politician. The article in the treaty which
stipulated that the English should aid him if "any did un-
justly war against him" makes his position plain. "We
cannot yet conceive but that he is willing to have peace with
us," writes Winslow, alluding to this treaty. "And especially
because he hath a potent adversary, the Narrowhigansets
that are at war with him; against whom, he thinks, we may
be some strength to him; for our pieces are terrible unto
them." Subsequent events proved that Massasoit 's policy
was not at fault for, with the assistance of his white allies, he
was finally enabled to throw off the galling yoke of Canonicus,
and to restore the Wampanoags to their old-time position of
independence and power.

In July, 1621, Governor William Bradford decided to send
a deputation to Pokanoket, to "discover the country," to
"continue the league of peace and friendship" which had
been entered into a few months previous at Plymouth, and
to procure corn for planting. Provided with gifts, a horseman's
laced coat of red cotton and a chain, Edward Winslow and
Stephen Hopkins set out from Plymouth on Monday, July 2d,
having for a guide Tisquantum, or Squanto, the friendly
Indian whose name appears so conspicuously in the early
annals of Plymouth. The trail followed led the travellers
through Titicut in the north-west part of Middle borough,
where they spent the night, to Taunton, thence to Mattapoiset

10 Massasoit's Town

(South Swansea) and from there to Kickemuit in the easterly
part of Warren. Undoubtedly the Kickemuit River was
crossed at a wading-place, often alluded to in the early records
of Warren, which was at a point a little north of the present
Child Street bridge. From Kickemuit they continued on
to So warns in the western part of the town on the shores
of the Warren River, then known as the Sowams River. There
seems little reason to doubt that, in going from Kickemuit
to Sowams, they followed a winding trail leading along what
now constitutes the .Kickemuit Road, and Market Street
in Warren, as, in 1621, the westerly portion of Child Street*
was a thick swamp. This visit of Winslow and Hopkins
was the second paid by white men to Rhode Island, the first
visit having been made by Verazzano and his companions
nearly a century before.

Winslow's party arrived at Sowams on the afternoon of July
4th, but Massasoit proved to be absent from home. Mes-
sengers were immediately dispatched after him, and he shortly
appeared being greeted by a discharge of his white visitors'
guns. He welcomed the Englishmen cordially and invited
them into his wigwam, where they delivered a lengthy message
from Governor Bradford and presented the gifts they had
brought with them. The sachem at once donned the coat and
hung the chain about his neck. " He was not a little proud,"
says Winslow, "to behold himself; and his men also to see
their king so bravely attired."

In answer to the Governor's message Massasoit made a
long speech in which he mentioned some thirty different
places over which he exercised jurisdiction, and promised
that his people should bring their skins to the English. At
the close of the speech he offered his guests tobacco and then
"fell to discoursing" of England, King James, and the French

* From Handy Street to Metacom Avenue.

Sowams in Pokanoket 11

against whom he seemed to feel a particular aversion. "Late
it grew," states Winslow in his narrative of this journey to
Pokanoket, "but victuals he offered none: for indeed he
had not any; being he came so newly home, so we desired
to go to rest."

Upon the following day many petty sachems came to
Sowams to pay their respects to their white allies. They
entertained the strangers by playing various games, the
stakes being skins and knives. The Englishmen challenged
them to a shooting match for skins, but they "durst not"
accept the challenge. They, however, desired one of the two
to shoot at a mark, "who shooting with hail shot (bird shot)
they wondered to see the mark so full of holes." This "shoot-
ing at a mark" is the first instance of target practice by a
white man within the limits of Rhode Island of which we
have any record.

On Friday morning Winslow and Hopkins took their
departure from Sowams, carrying with them some seed corn
which Massasoit had given them. The sachem earnestly
entreated them to prolong their stay; but the Englishmen
"desired to keep the Sabbath at home," so declined the invi-
tation. They reached Plymouth, on Saturday night, "wet,
weary, and surbated," indeed, yet with the satisfaction of
feeling that the object of their mission had been attained.

In March, 1623, "news came to Plymouth that Massasoit
was like to die; and that, at the same time, there was a Dutch
ship driven so high on the shore by stress of weather, right
before his dwelling that, till the tides increased she could
not be got off." Upon receipt of this intelligence Governor
Bradford deemed it expedient to dispatch a second expedition
to Sowams for the two-fold purpose of expressing his friend-
ship for the Wampanoag chief and obtaining "some confer-
ence with the Dutch." Edward Winslow was again selected
as the government's messenger, having for a "consort" a

12 Massasoit's Town

certain Master John Hamden, "a gentleman of London" (sup-
posed by some to be the famous parliamentarian of that name)
and for a guide, the friendly native Hobbamock. The party
followed the ancient Indian trail, and, upon nearing Mattapoi-
set, were informed that Massasoit was "dead and buried."
Hobbamock desired the Englishmen to "return with all
speed" to Plymouth, but Winslow being anxious, if the
king was indeed dead, to enter into friendly relations with
his successor, decided to continue the journey. At Matta-
poiset, the wife of Corbitant, sachem of the Pocassets, gave
the travellers "friendly entertainment," and, as no definite
information regarding Massasoit's condition was obtainable,
Winslow dispatched a messenger to Pokanoket to ascertain
the truth. The messenger returning in a few hours, brought
the welcome intelligence that the chief was still living though
critically ill. "Much revived" at these tidings, Winslow and
his companions "set forward with all speed" and arrived
at their destination "late within night." They found Massa-
soit yet alive, though apparently very near his end. The
Dutch ship, however, had departed "about two of the clock
that afternoon," so that, as regarded one of its intents, their
"journey was frustrate."

This Dutch ship probably visited Sowams for trading
purposes. The fact that it grounded " right before " Massa-
soit's dwelling proves that the sachimo comaro (sachem's
house) was situated on the shore of Sowams (Warren) River.
Probably it stood not far from the spring still known as
Massasoit's Spring. This is located at the foot of Baker
Street in the compact part of Warren. In its natural state
it was a powerful spring, bubbling from a bed of pure white
sand. Many years ago it was excavated to the depth of
about eight feet and walled up like a well. At a distance of
five feet from the bottom a sluice-way was left, through
which a small stream flows during the greater part of the

Sowams in Pokanoket 13

year and, finding its way to the surface, trickles into the
river. The water, which never fails, is of excellent quality
and even in warm weather remains pure and cold.

When the Englishmen entered the royal wigwam, they
found a great crowd of people assembled about the bed of
the chief. "There they were," narrates Winslow, "in the
midst of their charms for him making such a hellish noise,
as it distempered us that were well, and therefore unlike to
ease him that was sick." Massasoit, whose sight was gone,
greeted Winslow with these mournful words, "Oh Winslow
I shall never see thee again!" Winslow answered that
Governor Bradford had sent from Plymouth certain things
deemed by the English good in illness and, "having a confec-
tion of many comfortable conserves etc.," on the point of
his penknife, gave the sachem some, the juice of which
he swallowed." Whereat those that were about him much
rejoiced; saying "he had not swallowed anything in ten days
before." Winslow then washed the sick man's mouth and
gave him more of the confection dissolved in water and,
wichin half an hour, this treatment "wrought a great alter-
ation in him in the eyes of all that beheld him." His sight
began to return which gave both him and his white friends
"good encouragement." Winslow then hastily addressed
a letter to Governor Bradford describing the "good success"
of the expedition, and requesting that some chickens for
broth, medicine, and other things might be sent him; and,
with this letter, a messenger started for Plymouth at two
o'clock in the morning.

Massasoit, having expressed a wish for some "English
pottage," Winslow, though "unaccustomed and unacquainted
in such business," undertook its preparation. He "caused
a woman to bruise some corn" which he placed in a pipkin
and, as soon as the day broke, he sallied forth with Hamden
in search of herbs; and, finding nothing but strawberry leaves

14 Massasoit's Town

gathered a handful and put them in the pot with the corn
with a slice of "saxifrax root" to give the mixture a "good
relish." When this gruel was sufficiently boiled, he strained
it through his handkerchief and gave Massasoit "at least
a pint, which he drank and liked it very well." After this
the sachem's sight "mended more and more," indeed, so
rapid was his improvement that, says Winslow, "we with
admiration blessed God for giving His blessing to such raw
and ignorant means, * * * himself and all of them ac-
knowledging us the instruments of his preservation."

Massasoit finding himself so far recovered, now besought
Winslow to visit all that were ill in the town and to give them
the same treatment that had proved so beneficial in his own
case, saying that his people were "good folk." Winslow
acceeded to the sachem's request though it was "much offen-
sive to him," he "not being accustomed to such poisonous
savours." An entire morning was spent in going from
wigwam to wigwam, and one can imagine the commingled
awe and gratitude with which the simple children of nature
regarded the man who, to them, must have seemed gifted
with divine powers. Doubtless that wondrous season of
healing was long remembered in So warns, and doubtless the
name of Winslow continued to remain a household word in
the Indian village many years after its owner lay slumbering
in his grave.

In the afternoon, Winslow again sallied forth, gun in hand,
to gratify the desire of the king for more "pottage" of fowl.
He shot an "extraordinary fat" duck and with it prepared
a broth of which Massasoit, despite all warnings, "ate as
much as would well have satisfied a man in health." The
result of this "gross meal" was a relapse so severe that even
the Englishmen doubted their patients recovery. For the
space of four hours the sick man bled profusely at the nose ;
but, at last, the bleeding ceased and he fell into a profound

Sowams in Pokanoket 15

slumber from which he awakened refreshed and strengthened.
Meanwhile the messenger returned from Plymouth with the
chickens and other things for which Winslow had asked, but
Massasoit "finding his stomach come to him," would not
have the fowls killed, "but kept them for breed." These
historic chickens were the first domesticated fowls ever
brought into Rhode Island. So far was the sachem's health
restored that the Englishmen dared not give him the medicine
sent by the Plymouth surgeon. Massasoit, himself, felt
assured of his recovery. "Now I see the English are my
friends and love me," he exclaimed, "and whilst I live I will
never forget this kindness they have showed me." These
were no idle words as subsequent events proved.

During the white men's stay at Sowams many of Massa-
soit's friends and allies came to visit him, "some by their
report from a place not less than a hundred miles." To all
comers one of the sachem's chief men related the story of
Massasoit's illness, "how near he was spent; how, amongst
others his friends the English came to see him; and how
suddenly they recovered him to this strength they saw; he
being now able to sit upright by himself." But it was not
by words alone that the "good folk" of Sowams showed
their appreciation of the Englishmen's services to them.
" Whilst we were there," writes Winslow, "our entertainment
exceeded all other strangers. Divers other things were worth
the noting," he adds, "but I fear I have been too tedious."
Gladly would we have pardoned the worthy chronicler the
most "tedious" description of that primeval entertainment
which, doubtless included feasting and dancing and wild
aboriginal sports. Of what inestimable value would it have
been to the historian!

But it was at the moment of his guests' departure that
Massasoit demonstrated the depth of his gratitude to his
preservers. Calling Hobbamock, the guide, aside he, in the

16 Massasoit's Town

presence of two or three of his most trusted counsellors,
charged him to acquaint Winslow with the existence of a
plot originated by the Massachusetts Indians against Weston's
colony at Wessagusset and the settlement at Plymouth.
Hobbamock faithfully obeyed his sachem's instructions.
What would have been the fate of the Pilgrims had this timely
warning not been given, we can only conjecture. Massasoit
advised his white allies to "kill the men of Massachuset who
were the authors of this intended mischief," and this advice
they were constrained to follow.

This second visit of the English to Sowams marks an epoch
in the history of both red men and white. It firmly cemented,
by mutual gratitude and esteem, the friendship first estab-
lished on a political basis. Previous to it, Massasoit
appears to have cherished some misgivings regarding the good
faith of his Christian allies. But his restoration to health
by their ministrations removed every doubt from his generous
mind. Witness his words, "Now I see that the English love
me and are my friends, and whilst I live I will never forget
this kindness they have showed me." He never did forget it.

Less than a decade after this eventful visit, an English
trading house was established within the limits of Sowams
of which at one period, Thomas Prince, afterwards governor
of Plymouth colony, was "master." The location of this
trading house has caused historians as much perplexity as
the location of Sowams village itself. William J. Miller in his
"History of the Wampanoag Indians" says (p. 24), "The
trading post was supposed to have been located on the Bar-
rington side of the river (Warren River) on the land known
as Phebe's Neck." A little thought will convince anyone
familiar with the Sowams region that the trading house would
never have been placed in Barrington, for the reason that a
wide, deep, and unfordable river lay between Phebe's Neck
and Massasoit's town which the white men would have been

Sowams in Pokanoket 17

compelled to constantly cross and recross in their traffic
with the Indians. Moreover, as early as 1652, an English
settlement had been planted in what now constitutes the
north-easterly porl ion of Warren on the banks of the Kicke-
muit River, and it seems only reasonable to suppose that the
colonists placed their homes in close proximity to the trading
house, which, probably, was also a fort.

Governor Winthrop of Massachusetts states in his "Jour-
nal," under the date, April 12, 1632; "The Governor re-
ceived letters from Plymouth signifying that there had been
a broil between their men at Sowamset and the Narragansett
Indians who set upon the English house there to have taken
Owsamequin* the Sagamore of Packanocott, who fled thither,
with all the people, for refuge; and that Captain Standish
being gone thither, to relieve the three English which were
in the house, sent home in all haste for more men and
other provisions, upon intelligence that Canonicus, with a
great army, was coming against them; on that they wrote
to our Governor for some powder, to be sent with all possible
speed; for it seemed they were unfurnished. Upon this,
the Governor presently despatched away the messenger with
so much powder as he could carry, viz., 27 pounds. The
messenger returned and brought a letter from the Governor
(Bradford) signifying that the Indians were retired from
Sowamsett to fight the Pequots."

The Narragansetts feared and disliked the white men.
The Old Indian Chronicle states that they were jealous of
Massasoit "because he had, from the first, been in high favor
with the English." Naturally they would have viewed the
establishment of an English trading post at Sowams with
displeasure. Whether their hostility to the whites led to
the "broil" at Sowams, or whether, as has been suggested,!

* Another name of Massasoit.
t Durfee, "Whatcheer."

18 Massasoit's Town

they invaded Pokanoket for the purpose of compelling Mass-
asoit and his warriors to assist them in repulsing the Pequots,
may be only conjectured. Standish, perhaps fearing a
second incursion, remained at Sowamset until some time in
May*

In course of time, the trail leading from Plymouth to
So warns became a familiar path to the people of the Pilgrim
settlement. The Plymouth records show that Edward
Winslow made, at least, one more visit to Pokanoket, and
that John Alden, Samuel Nash, and others, also journeyed
there. All who explored the Sowamset district perceived
that it was, like the valley of Eshcol, "a good land," and the
idea of establishing a plantation within its limits seems to
have been entertained by the Plymouth government for
some years before such a settlement was actually begun.

The most famous sojourner at Pokanoket, in those early
days, was Roger Williams. Banished from Salem, in January,
1636, he "fled from the savage Christians of Massachusetts
Bay to the Christian savages of Narragansett Bay." In
"a bitter winter season," he made his way through the wild
forests to seek a new home in the domains of Massasoit, the
friend of white men. The best authorities believe that
Massasoit gave him shelter at Sowams village until the spring
broke. Williams himself, writes, "When I came (to the
Narragansett) I was welcome to Ousamequin," and "I testify
and declare, that, at my first coming into these parts, I
obtained the lands of Seekonk of Ousamequin." If circum-
stantial evidence be of any value, Warren has certainly good
grounds on which to base its claim to the honor of having
been the first spot in Rhode Island pressed by the foot of the
State's illustrious founder. It is a fact worthy of note that,
one hundred and twenty-nine years after Roger Williams

* Winthrop.

Sowams in Pokanoket 19

sought refuge with Massasoit, Rhode Island's great educa-
tional institution (Rhode Island College, now Brown Univer-
sity), began its career within a few rods of the site of the royal
wigwam which, presumably, sheltered the Salem exile.

On September 25, 1639, Massasoit and his eldest son,
then known as Mooanam, "appeared at Court and renewed
the ancient league with the Plymouth government," Massasoit
"acknowledging himself a subject of the King of England."
Thirteen years later, as we find by the records of the colony,
an English plantation, "rated" at the value of £01:10:00,
existed at Sowams. This settlement was located on the
banks of the Kickemuit River in the north-easterty part of
the present town of Warren. It was completely destroyed
by the Indians during King Philip's war;* but, as late as
Revolutionary times, the remains of its cellars and hearth
stones were still visible. Its northern limit extended to
what now constitutes the boundary line separating Warren
from North Swansea. Its southern limits approached
within less than a mile of the Indian village of the same
name. At just what date the first log cabin of a white settler
was erected at Sowams we have no means of ascertaining;
but it is not unreasonable to suppose that the little hamlet
grew up, slowly, around the old trading house. f

The Kickemuit River is a picturesque stream which, rising
in Swansea, winds along the shores of Warren and Bristol and
empties into Mount Hope Bay at a point called by the Indians
"Weypoiset," by the English the "Narrows." On the west
bank of the river, near the site of the old boundary line of
Warren and Bristol, is a living spring still known as Kicke-

* Morton's Memorial, Appendix, 463.

t The late Miss Annie E. Cole, who spent many years in collecting his-
torical data relating to Warren, believed that the trading post occupied
a central location upon the west bank of the Kickemuit, near the "wading-
place" before mentioned.

20 Massasoit's Town

muit Spring.* The soil in the vicinity of this spring is mixed
with oyster, clam, and quahaug shells to the depth of several
feet, and from it various aboriginal implements have at dif-
ferent periods been exhumed. It is evident that an Indian
village once occupied the locality, f

The main trail winding from Kickemuit to So warns was
intersected by shorter paths leading to various sections of
Pokanoket. The Metacom Avenue of today, familiarly known
as the "Back Road," is identical with the trail worn by
moccasined feet in travelling to and from Mount Hope.
Another trail closely following the lines of the present Kicke-
muit Road, School House Road, and Swansea Road, led to
what is now North Swansea, and passed the "national grind-
ing mill" of the Wampanoags,J a large flat rock located on
the west side of the Swansea Road at a point very near the

* On the east shore of the river, a few yards below the "wading-place,"
could be seen less than a century ago, the remains of an Indian "hot-house,"
a cell-like chamber constructed of stone and built into the river bank,
having in its centre, a flat bed of stone, the whole enclosure measuring
about eight feet in length. The savages made use of the sweating-bath
in sickness or to cleanse their skins of accumulations of dirt, paint, and
grease. A huge fire was built on the rude fireplace of the "hot house,"
being removed after the chamber became thoroughly heated. The In-
dians then seated themselves around the hot stones, and remained "for
an hour or more," says Roger Williams, "taking tobacco, discoursing
and sweating together." After thus profusely perspiring they plunged
into the water, to cool their bodies.

t The Indians accounted for the serpentine course of Kickemuit River
thus. Ages ago, they said, a deluge covered the whole face of the earth.
When the waters subsided, a certain divinity who inhabited Pokanoket,
feeling hungry sallied forth in search of food. Espying a huge eel basking
in the mud, he raised his spear aloft but the eel, perceiving his design,
began wriggling rapidly in the opposite direction. As it twisted, first to
the right then to the left, its pursuer was obliged to also constantly turn
and turn and soon became so fatigued that the eel easily out-distanced
him and finally plunged into Mount Hope Bay. The track left in the
mud by pursued and pursuer eventually became the bed of the Kicke-
muit River.

% See Appendix.

Sowams in Pokanoket 21

line separating Massachusetts and Rhode Island. There
were other paths leading to Birch Swamp in the north-
easterly part of Warren, to Poppasquash (the name then
applied to the westerly part of Bristol), and to a ferry over
Sowams River by means of which connection was made between
Massasoit ;s town and Chachacust, (a neck of land in what is
now Barrington). The two last mentioned trails are identical
with North and South Main Streets in Warren.

From the "wading-place" a trail ran eastward a short
distance and then branched off towards Touiset, Mattapoisett,
and other localities. A careful study of the early records of
Swansea and Warren has convinced the writer that, in laying
out highways, the original settlers of the towns, in many
instances, merely widened the ancient trails used by the
Wampanoags for no one knows how many centuries prior
to the arrival of the Mayflower in Cape Cod Bay.

The Plymouth government having established a settlement
at Sowams, "the garden of their patent,* " granted "certain
worthy gentlemen" of the colony leave to purchase land in
the Sowamset district. Negotiations were immediately
entered into with the Wampanoag chief, which resulted in
the sale of "Sowams and Parts Adjacent" by Massasoit
and his oldest son Wamsutta (Mooanam or Alexander), in
March, 1653. The purchasers of these "Sawomes Lands,"
which included the greater part of Pokanoket were Thomas
Prince, Thomas Willett, Miles Standish, Josiah Winslow,
William Bradford, Thomas Clark, John Winslow, Thomas
Cushman, William White, f John Adams and Experience
Mitchell. The price paid was thirty-five pounds sterling,
and the reader scarcely needs to be told that the Englishmen
"got the best of the bargain." Why Massasoit consented

* Callender's Historical Discourse.

t William White died, 1621. The actual purchasers were his two sons,
Resolved and Peregrine.

22 Massasoit's Town

to "sell his birthright," is a question more easily asked than
answered; gratitude probably influenced him, in part. He
never forgot that he owed his life to his English allies. Pos-
sibly, too, the wise statesman, realizing the superiority of
the white man's civilization, believed his people would be
benefitted by closer relationship with them. He is said to
have warned his sons that if they ever engaged in war against
the English they would meet with defeat.

The Sowams proprietors did not immediately enter into
possession of their entire purchase. By a clause in the "Grand
Deed of Saile," they were restrained from occupying "the
neck" (i. e. Mount Hope Neck*) until such time as the Indians
should remove therefrom, the term "neck" as used, however,
really signifying only the "uplands," or central portion of
what now constitutes Warren and Bristol. The meadows
(i. e. marshes) on either side the "great river," (Sowams
River), Kickemuit River, and in and about Poppasquash and
Chachacust were the only portions of the territory which
actually passed into their hands at the date of sale. These they
at once proceeded to divide. The boundaries of the several
"lots" are plainly described in the "Records of Sowams and
Parts Adjacent" and may be easily traced on a map of Bristol
County, R. I. The lots apportioned within the limits of
Indian and English Sowams fell to the share of Captain
Miles Standish, Experience Mitchell, Resolved and Peregrine
White, Thomas Willett, John Adams, Thomas Prince, and
John and Josiah Winslow.

The lot of Captain Standish included the marshes on both
sides of Kickemuit River from the source of the stream to
"the passage where they have usually gone over with canoes"

* The English gave the name of Mt. Hope Neck to the peninsula formed
by Sowams River and Narragansett Bay on the west and Kickemuit River
and Mt. Hope Bay on the east. It is a tract nine miles in extent, of which
one mile is in North Swansea, three miles are in Warren and the remaining
five miles, including the hill from which the neck is named are in Bristol.

Sowams in Pokanoket 23

i. e. the "wading-place." Standish also had land on the
east bank of the river from the wading-place to a "certain
creek" running towards the upland. His next neighbor on
the south was Experience Mitchell whose "meadow" extended
from the creek before mentioned to "Clark's Creek." Be-
yond Mitchell's land that of John Adams stretched from
"Clark's Creek" to "Rocky Run;" while, still farther south,
the lot of Resolved White ran from "Rocky Rim" to "Wey-
poisett," the "narrows" of the river. Resolved White also
possessed a strip of marsh on the west bank of the stream
which began at the "passage with canoes" and ended at a
"broaken red oak tree" whose location no man now knoweth.

The northern boundary of Captain Thomas Willett's lot
was marked by this same " broaken oak tree " and its southern
boundary line was very near the "narrows." In addition
to this land Willet had a s(rip of marsh on the east bank of
Sowams River. South of this strip was the lot of John
Winslow, and south of Winslow's meadow was a tract of land
belonging to Peregrine and Resolved White. Willett's
meadow was apparently bounded by Massasoit's village on
the north, the marshes of which were not divided, undoubt-
edly having been reserved by Massasoit for the use of his
people.

The land on the east shore of Belcher's Cove, an arm of
Sowams River, fell to the share of Thomas Prince. On the
west side of the Cove the meadows "to the head thereof" were
laid out to Josias Winslow and the Whites. The Sowams
Purchase" was a speculation, and the original proprietors
did not long retain their land. That they were no losers
by their investment is proved by the fact that Peregrine
White sold his share for £40 pounds, five pounds more than
was paid the Wampanoags for the entire territory bought.

From 1652 until the death of Massasoit in 1660, peace
between the white men at English Sowams and the red men

24 Massasoit's Town

at Indian Sowams remained uninterrupted. The civilized
farmer and the savage warrior appear to have each dwelt
quietly under the shadow of his "own vine and fig tree"
Doubtless the inhabitants of Massasoit's town were more or
less affected by every day intercourse with their white neigh-
bors. They must have learned many things unknown to
the savages of districts remote from English settlements.
Firm as was his friendship for the white men, however, Massa-
soit, Hubbard states, "was never in the least degree well
affected to the religion of the English " and would fain have
forced them to promise "never to attempt to draw away
any of his people from their old pagan superstition and devilish
idolatry." He lived and died a heathen, clinging pertina-
ciously to the faith and gods of his fathers.

In 1658 the Plymouth government voted to raise a troop
of horse "out of the several townships to bee reddy for ser-
vice when required." Each horse was to be "well appointed
with furniture, viz.; a saddle and a case of petternells." *
Sowamsett contributed one trooper to this company.

For several years prior to the death of Massasoit, Wamsutta,
or Alexander, was associated with his father in the govern-
ment of the Wampanoags, and when the great chief's spirit
fled from earth to Sowaniu, the paradise of the red man,
became the sachem of the tribe. He does not appear to
have made his father's town his own headquarters, but to
have resided at Mount Hope. Probably his village stood
near, or upon, the site of that occupied at a later date by his
brother Philip. Philip's town was not located as many
writers have erroneouly stated, upon the mount, itself, but
at a point about a mile and a half north of it and near the
"narrows" of Kickemuit River. At and about this spot,
relics of the aborigines have been disinterred in considerable

* "Petronel, a kind of carabine or horseman's pistol." Webster.

Sowams in Pokanoket 25

numbers, and the remains of an ancient Indian burial ground
was discovered there several years ago.

Soon after the death of his father Wamsutta repaired to
Plymouth and "professing great respect/' desired the Court
to bestow English names upon himself and his younger brother.
The Court acceded to the request and named the sachem
"Allexander Pokanoket," his brother (Metacom) Philip,
presumably after Alexander the Great and Philip of Macedon.
For a brief period succeeding this event, the old time friend-
ship of Wampanoag, and Englishman remained apparently
undisturbed.

In 1660 the "rates" of Sowams were increased to £02:10:00.
The little hamlet was slowly gaining in population and im-
portance. During this year, the Court ordered a pound
erected at Kickemuit, as Wamsutta complained that corn
belonging to his people had been injured by swine, the property
of the English. In Jane, 1661, Sowamsett and "all the
naighbors there inhabiting" were placed under the "ward"
of Rehoboth, and it was decreed that twenty shillings of
Sowams' rates should "be allowed for the easing of Sandwich
rates."

Alexander's good faith began to be questioned by the
English early in 1662. The governor of Plymouth colony
having been informed that the sachem was endeavoring to
persuade the old-time enemies of the Wampanoags, the
Narragansetts, to join him in a revolt against the whites,
deputed Captain Thomas Willett to investigate the truth
of the report. Upon visiting Mt. Hope, Captain Willett was
assured by Alexander that the Narragansetts had fabricated
the story in order to injure the Wampanoags in the eyes of
the English. The chief agreed to attend the next session
of the Court at Plymouth that the charges against him might
be fully investigated; yet when the Court convened he failed
to appear being, it was said, at that very date upon a visit

26 Massasoit's Town

to the Narragansett country. The government decided to
deal peremptorily with him and, accordingly, Josias Winslow,
then Major Commandant of the Colonial militia, was de-
patched to bring him to Plymouth by force. Winslow and
his party came upon the sachem, suddenly, at a hunting
lodge near Munponset Pond in the present town of Halifax,
Mass.; and, when Alexander declined to accede to the Court's
demand, Winslow presented a loaded pistol at his breast
threatening him with instant death if he persisted in his
refusal. Alexander and followers were almost helpless,
their guns which had been stacked outside the lodge having
been seized by the English before entering, and consequently,
after a parley, and at the earnest entreaty of his people,
the sachem yielded to the inevitable and, accompanied by
his wife and a long train of warriors and squaws began the
march towards Plymouth. Upon reaching Duxbury he
was entertained at Major Winslow's house, pending the
arrival of orders from Governor Prince who resided at East-
ham. But the haughty spirit of the Wampanoag king could
ill brook the humiliation of arrest and imprisonment, and
Alexander was soon smitten with a raging fever induced
by grief and anger. The best medical skill was summoned
to attend him, but he sank rapidly, and his terrified followers,
believing him poisoned by the English, entreated to be allowed
to carry him to Mt. Hope, promising to return with him as
soon as he should recover and offering to send his son* as
a hostage. Their request was granted and with all possible
speed they started on the homeward journey. They bore
their chief on a litter until they reached Titicut where they
embarked in canoes, but had proceeded only a short distance
down the river ere they perceived that he was dying. They
immediately drew their frail barks to the shore, lifted him

* The name of Alexander's son is unknown.

Sowams in Pokanoket 27

from the canoe, and tenderly placed him upon the grass. In
stoical silence they awaited the end; and, when, the last
fluttering sigh had escaped the pallid lips, they replaced
the form of the dead sachem in the canoe, grasped their
paddles and, with hearts burning with grief, anger, and thirst
for revenge, pushed swiftly and silently down the stream.

The tragic death of Alexander, — the direct result of the
bold and perhaps unwise policy of the Plymouth govern-
ment— broke the first link in the chain of friendship that had
bound Wampanoag and Englishman together. The sullen
attitude of the savages awakened anxiety among the colonists,
and it was with some alarm that those dwelling at the
Sowams' settlement beheld a vast concourse of savages
gathered at Mt. Hope to mourn for the dead chief and to
celebrate his brother Philip's accession to the sachemship. But
the feared outbreak of hostilities did not occur. Whatever
Philip's real feelings were, he apparently desired to live in
amity with the English; and a few months after becoming
the head of his tribe renewed the "covenant" which Massa-
soit had made with the government of Plymouth. He
does not seem to have, at first, felt a prejudice against the
Christian religion for, in the winter of 1663-4, he and his
people sent to John Eliot for "books to learn to read and to
pray unto God." Eliot's son twice visited Pokanoket and
taught among the Wampanoags, and from a letter ad-
dressed by Eliot to the United Colonies in 1664, it appears
probable that the apostle, himself, labored at Mt. Hope in
1664-5.

The hamlet by the Kickemuit continued under the ward
of Rehoboth during 1663 and 1664, being ordered to so re-
main until such time as the " naighborhood " should be in
a capassitie and desire to be a township of themselves." In
1664 Sowams was rated at £2:05:00; in 1666 at £07:17:06;
in 1667, at £10:10:00. During this same year, ''Wannamoi-

28 Massasoit's Town

sett* and Parts Adjacent" were incorporated as a township
under the name of Swansea. The charter granted it de-
scribed the township as "all such lands that lyeth betwixt
the salt water Bay and coming up Taunton River all the land
between the salt water and river and the bounds of Taunton
and Rehoboth." It will readily be seen that the site of
Warren was included within the bounds of this extensive
territory. The history of Sowams thus became merged in
that of Swansea, less than a score of years after its commence-
ment, and from the annals of Swansea the chronicler must
glean the facts that make up its final chapters.

It is not within the province of this sketch to discuss at
length the causes which led to that mighty struggle between
savagery and civilization known is history as King Philip's
War. For some years after he became sachem, Philip main-
tained an outward show of fealty to the English. But as
time went on the relations of red men and white became
strained. The Indian saw the forests rapidly vanishing be-
neath the colonist's axe, and realized that the game on which
he depended for sustenance would, also, soon disappear.
He was forced to sell his lands for the necessities of life, and
he complained bitterly, and too often with reason, of wrongs
inflicted upon him by his white brother. Moreover, he was
fast becoming debased by the vices of civilization. Philip
was a statesman and a patriot. He loved his country and
his people. In the increasing power of the English he saw
presaged the downfall of his race. He resolved to attempt
the extermination of the usurpers. His fertile brain evolved
a scheme for a union of the various native tribes against
the common foe. The English suspected his designs, yet
he many times adroitly baffled their watchfulness. The
fates, however, were against him, and he was destined never
to work out the salvation of his people.

* See Appendix.

Sowams in Pokanoket 29

In 1675, John Sassamon, a Christian Indian employed as a
sort of private secretary by Philip, warned the Plymouth
government that his master was plotting against it. Philip
discovered the perfidy of Sassamon, and shortly afterward,
the dead body of the latter was found beneath the ice in
Assawamset Pond in Middleborough. The English doubted
not that Sassamon had been put to death by the sachem's
order. They arrested three savages whom they charged
with the murder, tried them before a jury composed of twelve
Englishmen and four Indians, and sentenced them to death,
though two of them maintained their innocence to the last.
Philip had been summoned to Plymouth to testify regarding
his own connection with the murder, but he was too wise to
obey an injunction, so fraught with peril. Instead, he openly
hurled defiance at his accusers.

His first overt act was committed within the limits of
Sowams. "A little before the Court," the Plymouth Records
tell us, "Philip began to keep his men in armes about him
and to gather strangers unto him and to march about in
armes toward the vperendof the Necke on which he lived and
neare to the English houses whoe began thereby to be
somewhat disquieted but tooke as yett noe further notice
but only to sett a military watch in the next Townes as
Swanzey and Rehoboth." The Indians, however did not
long confine themselves to stalking about and flourishing
their weapons. Their powwows, or priests, having prophesied
defeat to which ever party should shed the first blood in
the conflict, they sought to provoke the English to attack
them by shooting their cattle, frightening women, and insult-
ing travellers. On the 18th or 19th of June, Job Winslow's
house * was "broken up and rifled" by them. On Sunday,

* After the close of Philip's war, Job Winslow erected a "dwelling house "
near the " wading- place " at Kickemuit on what is now the farm of Mr.
Edward Ennis. It is probable that the house "broken up" by the
Indians occupied this same site.

30 Massasoit's Town

June 20th, a party of eight warriors fully armed, invaded
the hamlet. They knocked at the door of a colonist and
demanded permission to grind their hatchets. Upon being
told that the grinding of hatchets on the Lord's Day was
a sin they replied, "We know not who your God is and we
shall grind our hatchets for all you or your God either."
They then proceeded to another house where they helped
themselves liberally to food. Continuing along the road
they met an Englishman whom they took prisoner, but later
dismissed, after enjoining him not to work on the Lord's
Day and to tell no lies.

As they proceeded on they began to shoot the cattle in
the fields, encountering no resistance as nearly all the settlers
were in attendance at public worship. At length they reached
a house whose owner was not at church. They killed his
cattle, then entered the house and demanded liquor, which
being refused they attempted to seize by violence. The
Englishman infuriated, snatched up his gun and fired, seriously
injuring one of the savages. The Indians immediately retired,
bearing the wounded warrior with them, and breathing
threats of vengeance. Back through Sowams they swiftly
wended their way to their own territory. Tradition says
that at Kickemuit Spring they met Philip, who wept when
he heard their story, and there seems little reason to doubt
the truth of the tradition. Though he had long meditated
war, the sachem was not yet fully prepared for it. Events
unforeseen had, however, hastened the crisis. He found
it impossible to curb the impatience and fury of his younger
warriors, and though he had failed to complete his cherished
scheme for a general uprising of the red men, he could no
longer delay open battle with the enemy. Perhaps a prophetic
foreboding of defeat forced the tears from his eyes.

The raid upon Sowams was the beginning of a reign of
terror that extended over every portion of Swansea. The

Sowams in Pokanoket 31

Plymouth government, upon being notified of the condition
of affairs, immediately dispatched companies of militia to
the assistance of the distressed township. On June 22d,
six men were killed or mortally wounded at Mattapoiset.
Thursday, June 24th, was appointed a day of fasting and
pra}',er, and as some of the colonists were returning from
church they were fired upon by the Indians with the result
that one man was killed and another wounded. During
the same day "six men were killed in another part of the
town." On the 28th, William Hammond was killed and "one
Corporal Belcher" wounded while scouring the "enemy's
territory" between Miles' garrison* at North Swansea and
the Sowams' settlement. On the 29th, a party of Indians who
had shown themselves near the garrison were pursued by
the English towards Sowams but made their escape into a
nearby swamp. f That night Philip, fearful of capture,
abandoned Mt. Hope Neck retreating across the bay to
Pocasset, now Tiverton. One of the last acts performed
by the savages ere quitting the home of their ancestors, was
the final destruction of Sowams. Hubbard tells us that
on the following day the entire English force (which had
concentrated at North Swansea) marched from Miles' garri-
son towards Mt. Hope. At a point about a mile and a half
below the bridge near the garrison they "passed by some
houses newly burned" and "not far off one of them they
found a Bible newly torn and the leaves scattered about by
the enemy." These charred ruins and torn and scattered
leaves were all that remained of English Sowams, ill-fated
Sowams, strangely destined to be destroyed by the same
hands that had nurtured it in its infancy. Two or three
miles further on, at the "Narrow* of the Neck" on the west

* This was located in what is now Barneysville. The bridge over
Palmer's River near its site is still generally called "Miles' Bridge"
t Birch Swamp in the north-easterly part of Warren.

32 Massasoit's Town

bank of Kickemuit River the soldiers discovered the "heads,
hands, and scalps" of eight Englishmen, murdered at Matta-
poisett, "stuck up on poles near the highway," close by the
spot which must have been pressed by the feet of Winslow
and Hopkins when, journeying from Plymouth to Pokanoket
in 1621, they crossed the " wacling-place " at Kickemuit and
entered Sowams for the purpose of continuing the "league
of peace and friendship" with Massasoit, and of securing
from the savage chief the supply of seed corn which the feeble
colony of Plymouth then stood sorely in need of.

The site of English Sowams remained desolate from that
eventful June day until some time after the close of the war
which soon followed the death of King Philip in August, 1676.
About 1678, settlers began to rebuild along the Kickemuit,
and the old "ways" and "bridal paths" laid out "long
since" by the Sowams' colonists were re-surveyed, descriptions
of them being carefully recorded. Most of these ancient
highways are in use at the present day. There being no
Indians left on Mount Hope Neck, the territory now occupied
by the town of Bristol and the compact part of Warren,
passed into the possession of the successors of the original
Sowams' proprietors, by virtue of the deed executed by Massa-
soit and Wamsutta in 1653. By an arbitrary act, King
Charles transferred the site of Bristol to Plymouth, but that
of Warren became a part of Swansea. As early as 1671, the
last mentioned district was known by the name of "Brooks'
Pasture," undoubtedly from some right of ownership in it
possessed by Timothy Brooks.* What that right was the
writer has been, thus far, unable to discover, though a careful
and diligent search of the early records has been made in the
hope of solving the mystery. At different periods, between
1681 and 1725, Brooks' Pasture — with the exception of the
meadows or marshes divided in 1653 between Thomas Prince

* See Appendix.

Sowams in Pokanoket 33

and his partners in the Sowams' purchase — was laid out and
divided among the proprietors there being, in all, eight several
apportionments of land made.

It is uncertain at what date the first dwelling house was
erected in the western part of Brooks' Pasture. In 1746,
that section of Swansea now occupied by the two towns of
Barrington and Warren was ceded to Rhode Island, incor-
porated as a township, and given the name of Warren in honor
of Admiral Sir Peter Warren, the hero of Loulsburg and
Cape Breton. WTarren's proximity to the ocean, and its
excellent harbor facilities, early led the inhabitants to engage
in maritime pursuits; and, in course of time, the wharves,
and shops, ship yards and dwelling houses of a flourishing
seaport sprang up to replace the vanished wigwams of Massa-
soit's town, Sowams in Pokanoket.

dk

Appendix

Some Notes on the Family of Massasoit

Massasoit had two brothers, Quadequina and Akkompoin.
When Massasoit visited Plymouth, March 22, 1621, he was
accompanied by Quadequina who is described as a "very
proper, tall young man, of a very modest and seemly counte-
nance." It is supposed that Massasoit took the name of
Ousamequin upon the death of Quadequina.

Akkompoin, Uncompawen, or Woonkaponehunt, was one
of King Philip's counsellors. He signed the treaties made
by Philip with the English at Plymouth, August 6, 1662;
at Taunton, April 10, 1671; and at Plymouth, September
29, 1671. He was killed by the English, while attempting
to cross Taunton river, July 31, 1676.

Namumpum, alias Tatapanum, alias Weetamoe, the wife
of Mooanum, alias Wamsutta, alias Alexander, alias Sopaquitt,
Massasoit's eldest son, is known in history as the "Squaw
Sachem of Pocasset." She is supposed to have been the daugh-
ter of Corbitant of Mattapoiset. At ihe time of her marriage
to Alexander she was the widow of an Indian named Weeque-
quinequa. Soon after the death of Alexander she wedded
a third husband Quiquequanchett, of whom nothing definite
is known. She married, fourth, Petownonowit, who espoused
the English cause during Philip's War, in consequence of
which his wife separated from him and formed an alliance
with Quinnapin, a young Narragansett sachem, and one of
Philip's chief captains. Weetamoe followed the fortunes
of Philip throughout the war. She was drowned in Taunton
River, near Mattapoisett, August, 1676. Alexander had a
son, but of his history nothing seems to be known.

Sowams in Pokanoket 35

Metacomet alias Pometacom, alias King Philip, alias
Wewascowanett, Massasoit's second son, married Wootone-
kanuske, a sister of Weetamoe. They had two children, one
of whom died in 1671. The other, a boy of eight, was, with
his mother, captured by the English, August 1, 1676, and,
after the death of Philip, both mother and son were shipped
to the West Indies and sold into slavery. Of their subse-
quent fate there is no record.

Sunconewhew was the third son of Massasoit. His name
appears upon a deed given by Philip, March 30, 1668, con-
firming the sale of the town of Rehoboth made by Massasoit
in 1641. It is said that King Philip had a brother killed,
July 18, 1675, who was a great captain and had been educated
at Harvard College. This was probably Sunconewhew.

Massasoit had a daughter Amie. She married Watuspa-
quin, or Tuspaquin, chief of the Assawamset Indians, gener-
ally called by the English the "Black Sachem." She is
probably the "sister of Philip" who was captured by the
English, July 31, 1676. Her husband was put to death by
the Plymouth authorities in September, 1676. Descendants
of Tuspaquin and Amie are living, the last of the royal race
of Massasoit. For an authentic and interesting account of
them the reader Is referred to "Indian History, Biography
and Geneology" by Ebenezer W. Pierce of Freetown, Mass.
published, 1878, by Zerviah Gould Mitchell, sixth in line of
descent from Tuspaquin and Amie, his wife.

Historic Localities in and About Sowams

Touiset. Indian name of a neck of land lying between
Kickemuit and Cole's Rivers. The western portion of it is
in Warren, the eastern in Swansea. Indian relics have been
exhumed from its soil, and, perhaps an Indian village was
once located upon it. April 10, 1673, Tottomommuck,

36 Massasoit's Town

sachem of Seaconnet (Little Compton, R. I.), sold "land in
Swansea called Towsett," * to Nathaniel Paine. In the
early records of Swansea Touiset is generally termed "The
Sheep Pasture." It was laid out in 106 lots which were
divided among the Swansea proprietors in 1686. In July
1675, a great concourse of Philip's warriors gathered at
Touiset, near the "narrows" of the Kickemuit River, "to eat
clams, other provisions being scarce." Captain Benjamin
Church, then at Pocasset (Tiverton), greatly desired to sur-
prise and capture this body of the enemy; but, as he had
peremptory orders to proceed from Pocasset directly to Mt.
Hope, he was compelled to allow them to remain unmolested.

After the close of Philip's war, the remnant of the Wam-
panoags fled to Maine, and ultimately became merged in
the Penobscot tribe. Up to half a century ago, parties of
Penobscot Indians were in the habit of making periodical
visits to Warren, camping for several days in various parts
of the town. Before returning to Maine, they invariably
paid a visit of a few hours to what is known as the "Hicks'
Farm" on Touiset Neck, though for what purpose this par-
ticular locality was visited they never divulged.

King's Rocks, the "National Grinding Mill" of the
Wampanoags. The following article, contributed by Gen.
Guy M. Fessenden, appeared in the "Warren Telegraph"
issue of June 2, 1860.

"Mr. Editor: An interesting discovery in reference to the
aboriginal history of this town has recently been made. Mr.
Francis Loring, an intelligent Indian, and a member of the
Penobscot tribe, who has been in this vicinity for several
weeks, informed the writer that the tribe had in their posses-
sion, and which they carefully preserved among their national
archives, an ancient book made of skins, containing many
descriptions of important historical localities, some of which

* Taunton Records.

Sowams in Pokanoket 37

are in this vicinity, all of them in the ancient Indian style
of signs and picture writing. One of these pictures repre-
sents four men rolling a heavy circular stone, by a stick
placed through a hole in the centre, back and forth over a
quantity of corn, and described as the Wampanoag national
grinding mill, where corn was ground for war parties or for
any large public gathering of the people.

"The locality of the place was so plainly stated that Mr.
Loring had no difficulty in finding it. It is at the place
called King's Rocks" in Warren, near the Swansea line
about two miles from the village. On the west side of the
mass of rocks is a nearly level smooth surface of rock about
twenty-five feet by eight feet in width. In this level place
are three regular, narrow, straight depressions. They appear
evidently to have been worn into the rock by some forcible
attrition, and are, in fact, just such hollows as might be made
by the cause assigned.

"These worn places have heretofore attracted notice and
speculation, but the true cause of their existence has not
before been known by late generations, and the idea of a
national grinding mill, or of pulverizing corn by a rolling stone
in connection with Indian history will probably be new to
every one.

"As confirmatory of the locality, Mr. Loring says the pic-
ture has upon it another hill of somewhat peculiar appearance
(a large rock upon the summit) situated about a mile east
of the grinding place, named, he thinks Wigwam Hill.*
Leading from this hill towards the setting sun are two hun-
dred and forty human steps, the line of steps terminating
in three skulls which denotes a burial place. Mr. Loring
visited the hill (now called Margaret's Hill from the last
Indian woman who resided there) and pacing off 240 steps

* This hill is on the farm of Mr. Edward Mason, Birch Swamp Road,
Warren.

38 Massasoit's Town

west came to an Indian cemetery, which he verified by dig-
ging, and finding human remains.

Mr. Francis Loring, known also by the name " Big
Thunder" is now living, at an advanced age, on Indian Old
Town Island, Maine, and is the custodian of the Penobscot
tribe. The writer recently learned from him that the "ancient
book made of skins" alluded to by General Fessenden was, a
few years ago, accidentally destroyed by fire.

The Penobscot language contains several words which are
undoubtedly of Wampanoag or Narragansett origin. This
tribe regard Warren, R. I., as the former home of Massasoit.
They translate the word Sowams, "Place of the Setting Sun."

Wannamoisett. The northern part of Barrington extend-
ing into Seekonk, and including Bullock's Point and River-
side. It was purchased of the Indians by John Brown, 1645.
Became a part of Swansea, 1668.

Chachacust. The neck of land lying between Barrington
and Warren, or Palmer's Rivers. Called by the English, New
Meadow Neck, or the New Meadows. Under the date
December 7, 1647, the "New Meadows " are referred to, in the
Plymouth Records, as being "on the west side of Sowams
River" which proves that Sowams River and Warren River
are identical. King Philip claimed that a portion of Chachacust
was not included in the sale of "Sowams and Parts
Adjacent," and the English purchased his right in 1668.

Popanomscut. The southerly section of Barrington. It
was called by the English "Phebe's Neck," and appears to
have been the abode of Pebee, or Thebe, a petty Wampanoag
sachem, and one of Philip's counsellors. Thebe was killed
by the English July 2, 1675. At the close of Philip's war
Plymouth Colony claimed Popanomscut as "conquered
land," but the Sowams' proprietors succeeded in establishing
their right to the tract under the provisions of the "Grand
Deed of Saile" of "Sowams and Parts Adjacent."

Sowams in Pokanoket 39

In Roger Williams' "Key" occurs the word "paponaum-
suog" which is thus denned: "A winter fish which comes
up in the brooks and rivulets ; some call them frost fish from
their coming up from the sea into fresh brooks in time of
frost and snow." Every one familar with Warren River
is aware of the fact that, with the arrival of cold weather,
great quantities of frost fish appear in its waters, swarming
close to both the Barrington and Warren 6hores. The
similarity of the two words " Popanomscut " and "paponaum-
suog" suggests the question: May not the former word have
been derived from the latter, and may not its meaning be
"place of frost fish" or something of similar signification?

Popanomscut was laid out and divided among the pro-
prietors between 1676 and 1680.

Chachapacaset. Rumstick Neck in Barrington. The
name Rumstick was applied to the neck in 1697, and at first
only to a locality as "Rumstick on Chachapacaset." Some
authorities believe the word Rumstick to be of Norse origin.

Nayatt. The south-west point of Barrington.

Moscachuck Creek. It runs from the brickyard at
Nayatt into Narragansett Bay.

Annawomscott. That section of Barrington now known
as Drownville.

Scamscammuck Spring. Located at the upper end of
Chachapacasset.

Mosskituash Creek. This flows into Bullock's Cove at
Riverside.

Poppasquash Neck. Poppasquash, though originally used
to indicate the entire western part of Bristol, is now only
applied to a small peninsula surrounded by the waters of
Bristol harbor on the east and Narragansett Bay on the
west.

The " Miery Swamp." The swamp at Mount Hope where
King Philip was slain August 12, 1676.

40 Massasoit's Town

"King Philip's Chair." A niche in the eastern side of
Mount Hope in which, according to tradition, King Philip
was accustomed to sit for the purpose of reviewing his war-
riors, practicing target shooting, etc. Near the "chair" is a
spring of pure water.

The Grand Deed of Saile of Lands from Osamequin and
Wamsetto his son, dated 29th March, 1653.

To All People to whome these presents shall come, Osama-
quin and Wamsetto his Eldest Sone Sendeth greeting.
Know Yee, that wee the said Osamequin & Wamsetto, for
& in consideration of thirty-five pounds sterling to us the
said Osamequin and Wamsetto in hand payd By Thomas
Prince Gent: Thomas Willett Gent: Miles Standish, Gent:
Josiah Winslow, Gent: for And in the behalfe of themselues
and divers others of the Inhabitants of Plimouth Jurisdic-
tion, whose names are hereafter specified, with which said
summe we the said Osamequin and Wamsetto doe Acknowl-
edge ourselues fully satisfyed contented and payd, Haue
freely and absolutely bargained and Sold Enfeoffed and Con-
firmed and by these presents Doe Bargaine Sell Enfeoffe
and Confirme from us the said Osamequin and Wamsetto,
and our and Every of our haiers unto Thomas Prince, Thomas
Willett, Miles Standish, Josia Winslow, Agents for themselves
and William Bradford, Senr, Gent: Thomas Clark, John
Winslow, Thomas Cushman, William White, John Adams
and Experience Mitchell, to them and Every of them, their
and Every of their haiers and assigns forever; —

All those Severall parcells and Necks of Vpland, Swamps and
Meadows Lyeing and being on the South Syde of Sinkunch Els
Rehoboth, Bounds and and is bounded from a Little Brooke of
water, called by the Indjans Mosskituash Westerly, and so
Ranging by a dead Swamp, Estward, and so by markt trees
as Osamequin and Wamsetto directed unto the great River
with all the Meadow in and about ye Sydes of bothe the

Sowams in Pokanoket 41

Branches of the great River wth all the Creeks and Brookes
that are in or upon any of the said meadows, as also all the
marsh meadow Lying and Being wth out the Bounds before
mentioned in or about the neck Called by the Indians Chacha-
cust, Also all the meadow of any kind Lying and being in or
about Popasquash neck as also all the meadow Lyeing from
Kickomuet on both sides or any way Joyning to it on the
bay on Each Side.

To Haue And To Hold all the aforesaid vpland Swamp
Marshes Creeks and Rivers withe all their appurtinances
unto the aforesaid Thomas Prince, Thomas Willett, Miles
Standish, Josia Winslow and the rest of the partners aforesaid
to theme, And Every of them their and Every of their haiers
Executors And assignes for Ever And the said Osamequin and
Wamsetto his Sone Covenant promise and grant, that when-
soeuer the Indians Shall Remoue from the Neck that then
and from thence forth the aforesaid Thomas Prince, Thomas
Willet, Miles Standish, Josiah Winslow shall enter vpon the
Same by the Same Agreement as their Proper Rights And
Interests to them and their heirs for Ever. To and for the
true perforemance of all and Every one of the aforesaid severall
Perticulars wee the said Osamequin, and Wamsetto Bind
us and every of us our and every of our heirs Executors
Administrators and Assignes ffirmly by these presents.

In Witness whereof wee haue hereunto sett our hands and
Seales this twentieth day of March, anno Domini, 1653.
The marke of

Osamequin, & a (Seale).

Wamsetto, W. & (Seale).

Signed Sealed and Delivered
in ye Presence of us
John Browne
James Browne
Richard Garrett.

42 Massasoit's Town

Timothy Brooks

Timothy Brooks was the son of Henry and Susan Brooks
of Woburn, Mass. He married (1st), 1659, December 2,
Mary, daughter of John Russell. She died at Woburn, 1680.
He married (2d), 1680, Mehitable, daughter of Roger and
Mary Mowry, and widow of Eldad Kingsley of Swansea.
Timothy Brooks had several children of some of whom we
find record as follows :

Timothy, born, 1661, October 9. Married, 1685, November
10, Hannah, daughter of Obadiah and Abigail (Bullock)
Bowen. He was a Baptist minister. Removed from Swansea,
Mass., to Cohansey, N. Y.

John, born about 1662. Married (1st) Martha, daughter of
Hugh and Mary (Foxwell) Cole (b. 1662, April 16; d. 1711);
married (2d) Tabitha Wright of New York. She died, 1714,
November 19, aged 30 years. He died, 1714, November 22,
aged 52 years.

Mary, married Samuel, son of William and Susannah
Salisbury (b. 1666, May 17), and died ). Samuel Salis-
bury married (2d) Jemima Martin.

Elizabeth, married, 1689, April 10, Thomas Lewis.

Hepsibath, born, 1673. Married, 1694, May 22. Pelatiah,
son of Sampson and Mary (Butterworth) Mason, (b. 1669,
April 1), and died, 1727, August 24. He married a second,
third, and fourth wife and died, 1763, March 29.

Rebecca, married, 1696, November 6, Melatiah, son of
John and Joanna (Esten) Martin. He was born, 1673,
April 30, and died, 1761, January 30.

Abigail, married Levi Preston.

Josiah born, Swansea, Mass., 1681. Removed to New York.

Timothy Brooks resided at different periods, at Woburn,
Bedford and Swansea, Mass. During King Philip's war, his
family were protected at "Garrison No. 10" at Bedford,

Sowams in Pokanoket 43

which stood near his residence, now known as the "Old Page
House." After the death of his first wife, 1680, he removed
to Swansea. He was "admitted into ye second Ranke"
at Swansea 1680, November 12. Freeman, 1681. Granted
liberty "to set up a Saw Mill on Mattapoisett River at the
upper falls and four acres of Land to accommodate the same
adjoining," 1681, November 11. One of "the Grand En-
quest," 1682, June 6. Granted liberty to "keep Entertainment
for Travellers" 1684, January 1. Commissioned Lieutenant
of the Swansea Company, 1686, June 4. Promoted to be
Captain of the Company, 1690, May 20.

Timothy Brooks resided in that part of Swansea now
Warren, and, in 1690, was one of the fence viewers appointed
for Kickemuit district. His hostelry was the first ever opened
within the limits of Warren. Judging by deeds recorded at
Swansea and Warren, it was located on the east side of Bel-
cher's Cove on the Swansea Road. His estate consisted of a
house, barn, and out-buildings and 110 acres of land, which
he sold to John Barney of Bristol, May 15, 1702.

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